A 1980s launch of an Atlas H rocket carrying a classified payload. Such launches were often identified publicly only by an Air Force Program number. (credit: USAF)

What’s in a number?

The Air Force Program numbering system during the Cold War

by Dwayne A. DayMonday, January 3, 2011

When it comes to conducting historical research, data is relative. If almost nothing is known about an event or a topic, then even a tiny discovery can be profound—for instance, many Roman leaders are known only because their face was imprinted on a coin. But as knowledge of the event accumulates, additional information—except in rare instances—generally means less and less. This is certainly true of the history of the American military and intelligence space programs. Not too long ago even tiny amounts of information about them had substantial value. Now, after so much has been declassified, new revelations hold less and less apparent weight, even if what remains to be declassified is significant.

The program numbers were an operational necessity, and they were intended to conceal the identity of a specific payload. Nevertheless, they made it possible for people outside of the military—and presumably for the KGB as well—to track programs in a rudimentary way.

An example of this is the Air Force Program numbers that for many years were the unclassified method for designating projects. Starting in the early 1960s the Air Force began applying program number designations to both military and intelligence space programs. Many of these programs usually already had a classified designation. But for many projects it was necessary to have a designation that could also be used in unclassified environments. For instance, if an officer needed to travel, his travel orders had to state why he was traveling, and “top secret spy satellite business” might look suspicious on a travel form. So somebody invented the program numbers, which were unclassified, although the definition of what the programs were remained classified. I’ve never seen a good description of exactly when or how or why this system was initiated, but it was apparently in use by 1962 or 1963, and lasted at least until the late 1980s. The designations apparently only applied to spacecraft programs and not to spacecraft instruments, rockets, or rocket engines, although in at least one or two cases they apparently served as catch-all designations for a variety of spacecraft.

The program numbers were an operational necessity, and they were intended to conceal the identity of a specific payload. Nevertheless, they made it possible for people outside of the military—and presumably for the KGB as well—to track programs in a rudimentary way. For example, during the 1960s and 1970s the military launched classified payloads atop various rockets and used the program numbers to designate these payloads in things like unclassified launch reports. Somebody who managed to obtain copies of these launch reports could then get a sense of how many payloads of what types were being launched. The use of a new payload number could signify the debut of a new payload. People like Jeffrey Richelson, Jonathan McDowell, and the late Anthony Kenden used program numbers to try and discern what satellites the United States had launched over the years.

The Soviet Union had better resources for trying to figure out what the Americans were doing in space, including optical tracking stations that could photograph the satellites once they were in orbit. Although the use of program numbers had a downside, it was probably the least compromising method available to the military.

Starting in the 1990s the National Reconnaissance Office acknowledged that several program numbers were connected to programs that were declassified. For example, Program 162 was used to designate the early CORONA program until it was replaced by another number. This demonstrated one of the values of the system, because the number change implied a different program. But in recent years the NRO also tossed out a new mystery by declassifying sixteen program numbers that were associated with NRO programs “without identifying the specific payload.” What these are remains a mystery to those people who have tried to keep track of military and intelligence satellite launches during the Cold War. Equally puzzling is why the NRO did not declassify other numbers that independent observers have long suspected were associated with NRO programs, and which the NRO itself has revealed in some declassified documents: for instance, Program 11, which was a series of small signals intelligence satellites launched in the mid-1960s.

What follows is a list of Air Force Program numbers and the programs I believe they are associated with, as well as the source of information on their connection. It is by no means complete, but even a quick glance provides a sense of the scope of the American military and intelligence satellite effort during the Cold War. Any help in filling in this list would be appreciated.